


there is no time or space (in one indescribable instant)

by justwantedtodance



Category: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (TV)
Genre: AU during 1x18, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 01:24:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13671348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justwantedtodance/pseuds/justwantedtodance
Summary: AU during 1x18. At Jayma's wedding after Greg passes out, what would have happened if Rebecca had met Nathaniel? In one indescribable instant, it can all fall into place.





	there is no time or space (in one indescribable instant)

_I think . . . you’re cool_.

The words repeat themselves over and over in her mind, and Rebecca frantically tries to shoo them away. She can’t help but feel her heart break a little. Even though Greg isn’t the guy she’s always dreamed of, he’s a really great guy, and Rebecca thinks that it could be more than just sex. She curses herself for how wrong she is.

The range of emotions she’s feeling, not to mention the copious amount of liquor flooding her body, overwhelms her, but she doesn’t even care because it just feels good to be numb right now. Right now, she can’t feel the sting of his cold admission of feelings or lack thereof, and it’s okay because she doesn’t want to. Rebecca just needs to escape.

She orders a drink from the bar after WhiJo takes Greg to an Uber out front. Rebecca settles on something fruity because fruity drinks make her giggly, and maybe that will cover up how awful she feels inside.

_Settle for me. Darling, just settle for me._

Rebecca’s mind travels back to when Greg sang that song, and she doesn’t know whether to throw her drink at the wall or sink down said wall and cry.

“It’s not settling if I want you, asshole,” she mumbles and checks around to see if anyone heard her. No one did, thank God.

She’s walking towards a table to set her drink down and check her phone when Rebecca collides with something solid and shivers as her drink runs down the valley between her chest. Rebecca apologizes frantically before she can even see who or what she ran into.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I’m such an idiot, I’m so—holy mother of God.“ She finally takes a look at the person—he’s a person, she thinks, more like a Greek god—who’s laughing nervously and trying to cover the bright pink stain of her drink with his suit jacket. “I’m Jewish and all, but I’m pretty sure you look like God. Ok wow, I’m weird—I mean, hi, I’m Rebecca.”

She’s covering her face with her hands, but he can clearly see the blush on her cheeks through her fingers. He can’t help but laugh louder at how she could be both so drunk and so adorable at the same time.

“Hi Rebecca, I’m Nathaniel,” he says politely as he extends his hand to her. Rebecca reaches for it but stops short with a gasp.

“Wait a sec, I know you. You’re Nathaniel Plimpton! Of Plimpton, Plimpton, and Plimpton, right?” He nods and is about to respond until Rebecca interjects, pitching her voice higher than before. “I’m a lawyer with Whitefeather and Associates; god, I _knew_ your face looked familiar! You’re like a big deal in LA. Oh my god, this is so cool! Is this what meeting famous people is like?”

“You need to, shh,” he lowers his voice as he places his index finger over her lips. Rebecca feels a rush of heat flow through her body, and she can’t tell whether that’s the alcohol or his touch . . . maybe it’s a little of both?

“Sorry,” she whispers from behind his finger. Nathaniel takes his finger away but keeps his voice low.

“Look, I know I’m a big deal, and truly, I’m flattered you’re so excited to meet me, but here’s the thing: no one is supposed to know I’m here.” Rebecca tilts her head and quirks an eyebrow at him.

“Uh, in case you haven’t noticed, dude, this is a wedding. It’s invitation only. So, what, did the happy couple leave you off the invite list and you’re about to come in and pull a Maleficent or something?” He chuckles a bit and places his hand lightly on her shoulder.

“Nothing that grandiose; theatrics seem like more of a you thing,” he teases with a smirk. Rebecca scoffs and hits his chest lightly. “No, I’m a friend of Jayma’s Aunt Myrna, but I wasn’t planning to come because I wasn’t supposed to be in town this weekend. I was just hoping to make a quick appearance to give my best wishes and head back to work, but well . . . here we are.” Rebecca forces a smile and stares at her feet. “You look like you could use someone to talk to. Do you wanna—?“

Suddenly, Jayma flings both doors to the foyer open. “Hey everybody, time to get inside. Aunt Myrna’s going to sing!”

Rebecca and Nathaniel stare at each other for a brief moment, and once again, he extends his hand to her. This time, Rebecca takes it lightly, and the couple enters the ballroom, standing towards the back of the room. Aunt Myrna takes the stage in a stunning crimson ball gown, and she introduces her song to the crowd.

“I sang this on _Star Search_ back in 1984, and I got 3 and ¾ stars.” The opening notes to the ballad play over the speakers, and the whole room is covered in artificial but still romantic starlight.

“In one indescribable instant, the whole world falls away . . .” Rebecca widens her eyes in disbelief when she hears the song that’s been playing in her mind all day. What a cruel trick of fate, she thinks. This can’t be happening.

“In one indescribable instant, you'll know just what to say. In one indescribable instant, your heart will speak the truth. 'Cause in that one indescribable, magical, mystical, endless, incredible instant, the only words you'll need are ‘I love you.’"

A few couples around the perimeter of the room start to face each other and link in close dance hold, and it makes Rebecca’s heart flutter just a bit. Seeing how romantic the atmosphere is makes her yearn for someone to share it with, and she paints a pretty picture in her mind of how the twinkling lights would flicker in Josh’s eyes as he twirls her around the dance floor and—

Suddenly, Rebecca feels a tightening around her left hand, and she gasps, looking down to find Nathaniel’s fingers intertwined with her own.

“Dance with me?” He smiles down at her, and Rebecca’s pulse begins to race. Her prewritten storybook fairy tale be damned, this is the magic she craves. If there is one good thing that comes out of tonight, it’s this. She’s going to have her dance no matter what.

“It’s what I’ve wanted all night,” she admits quietly, the admission so soft only the two of them can hear. It’s like their secret.

Nathaniel tentatively leads her to the dance floor and twirls her around before pulling her in close. Rebecca’s light blue dress spins with her, and it makes her giggle. He pulls her in with one hand at the top of her shoulder and the other cupped within her fingers in true ballroom fashion.

_So, the devilishly handsome stranger and the princess find each other in a twist of the plot. I guess sometimes the narrative isn’t as straightforward as we imagine . . ._

The soaring instrumental of the violins whisks Rebecca’s mind away to a world where declarations of love are accompanied with flowering poetry and men don’t friend-zone her with a pass-out on the bar counter. There’s a warm safety in this dream world because there, reality can’t hurt her.

Nathaniel studies her eyes and finds her lost inside a world of make-believe, but he can’t help but wonder if the glow surrounding her iris is the product of the paper lantern above her head or something deeper within her heart. He knows almost nothing about her, and yet, her eyes tell him all the stories of pain and heartbreak he needs to know. She loves deeply and fully, and perhaps that’s why she suffers so much, but if the love in those eyes is anything like the love in her heart, he’s in big trouble.

The words of the song start again, and it pulls Rebecca back to the current moment; she’s dancing with a man she’s just met, but it feels like they’ve known each other forever. A squeeze of his warm hand in her own draws her eyes up to his, and it feels as though all the air has been sucked from the room. Her lips part the slightest of inches as she holds his soulful gaze, and she takes the hand that’s wrapped around his and places it and her opposite hand at the base of his neck. Nathaniel takes his cue and moves both of his to just above the small of her back, and they pull each other closer.

“In one indescribable instant, there is no time or space. In one indescribable instant, it all falls into place. In one indescribable instant, your dreams will all come true.”

The build of the music makes her heart swell impossibly. The emotion begins to overtake her, and she can’t stop the tear that runs down her left cheek. Nathaniel instinctively reaches up to swipe it away with his thumb and catches her face in both his hands in the process. God, he could kiss her right now.

But he doesn’t.

Rebecca wonders if this is just a sick joke that life decides will be fun to play on her. With Josh and all of his engagement plans to the girl she knows isn’t right for him, Greg and his absence of feelings for her, despite hers for him, and now Nathaniel and his alarmingly warm heart for such a shark of a lawyer (or so she’s heard.) Rebecca concludes that the world is trying to make a fool of her, and she can’t help but break the dam of tears that has been threatening to flow for the past hour.

There’s a tightness around his chest aside from the woman who is winding her arms around his middle and leaning into him like her legs depend on it. Unsure of how to properly respond, he keeps her close with one hand around her back and the other resting softly in her hair. More wetness soaks his shirt, and he realizes that Rebecca is crying, though softer than he expected she would.

“Are you okay, Rebecca,” he asks quietly. A shake of her head is the only response he gets. Her shoulders start to tremble, and Nathaniel picks her face up to look deeply into her eyes. “Let’s take a walk, okay?” Rebecca nods and laces her fingers inside of his as he leads her out to the hotel’s courtyard.

It’s nothing fancy, but it’s quiet, and they stop at a bench overlooking the lake across the way. Rebecca takes a seat, leaning forward and burying her face in her hands to fruitlessly hide her tears. He doesn’t touch her, but he stays close by and lets her have her moment, and he stares out at the moonlit lake.

“Are weddings always this fucking emotional?”

Rebecca’s words pull Nathaniel out of his trance, and he shifts his gaze back towards her. He responds with a biting laugh and almost says something sarcastic about his family’s marriages, but now’s not the time for that, he thinks.

“I mean, movies idealize what the perfect wedding is and how everyone is so fucking happy because we’re supposed to be celebrating holy matrimony, and it’s this big deal with fancy chandeliers and Austrian crystal glasses, which aren’t even real crystal anyway, and it’s supposed to be this big happy celebration, so why am I sitting here so fucking sad over a boy that ruined my night?” She pauses for a gasping breath before continuing.

“This night was supposed to be special. It was supposed to be magical.” Rebecca rubs some running mascara from under her eyes and scoots the smallest of inches towards Nathaniel. “I—I was gonna tell Greg that I really care about him and that maybe we should think about, you know, getting more serious, but he just—he just blew me off and told me I was cool.”

Her sadness morphs into anger, and she grips his shoulder tighter than she meant to. “Nathaniel, he told me I was _cool_ , like, what the fuck kind of compliment is that, are we in the third grade?”

Rebecca throws her hands up with a bitter laugh and begins to pace around the bench. “But you know what, it’s fine. I don’t even care anyway. It doesn’t bother me one bit. Nope.” After a beat, she groans in frustration. “Who am I kidding, I’m sitting here crying about this guy to _you_ , who I literally just met an hour ago, and I’m shocked you haven’t just gotten up and walked away or told me to shut up because that’s what everyone does. They—they tell me I’m dramatic and I’m weird and that I should just stop talking because nobody. Fucking. Cares. Rebecca. And—“

She’s about to continue when she feels Nathaniel’s hand close around her own. His touch, so soft but so firm, pulls her down from her spiral and keeps her from collapsing to the grass below her in a fit of tears. He slowly guides her back to the bench next to him and makes sure she’s looking into his eyes as he places one of her hands in his and the other over his heart, clasping his own hand over hers.

Nathaniel inhales slowly and watches for Rebecca to do the same. He exhales in a measured tempo in his mind to slow her heart rate down, and she breathes out with him. When she tries to look away, he squeezes her hand, and she concentrates on a spot between his eyes. They continue this pattern a few times more until he sees that Rebecca is visibly relaxed.

“H—how did you do that,” she asks quietly, still gripping one of his hands tightly.

“You aren’t the only one with anxiety issues, Rebecca.” There’s now a palpable connection between them beyond physical attraction to each other. Nathaniel takes both of her hands in his and leans in close. “Listen to me. I don’t know who this Greg person is, but if he doesn’t make you feel special, then he isn’t worth your time. You deserve someone who makes your night magical. I could see it in your eyes that you wanted to feel like a princess tonight, and you cannot settle for someone who makes you feel any less than that.”

Rebecca catches his eyes and sees the passion pouring from them, and she’s taken aback at how much he _cares_. He actually cares about her, despite having known her for barely an hour.

“Nathaniel?” Her voice is barely above a whisper, but he nods in acknowledgment that he hears her. “I’m hungry.” That actually makes him laugh out loud, and Rebecca stares at him confused. “What’s so funny?”

“It’s not really that funny, it’s just that this would be the time in a Nicholas Sparks movie where the girl makes this Shakespearean declaration of love, and instead, you just told me you’re hungry.” Rebecca laughs a little, though it’s still forced.

“Well, life’s not a rom-com. I’m living proof of that right here.” Nathaniel stands up and extends his hand to Rebecca, but she doesn’t make the move to get up right away. “What are you doing?”

“Come on, we’re going to get you some food. I’ve got a car. What do you want?”

“But I don’t wanna walk. Walking is hard, and these heels are _not_ made for walking,” she groans and settles further into the bench.

“I’ll carry you?” Rebecca scoffs at his request, knowing full well he couldn’t and wouldn’t actually follow through with it.

“Oh please, you couldn’t carry me. I’m way too—“ Suddenly, she’s swept up into a pair of surprisingly strong arms. She instinctively wraps her arms around his neck and lets herself be carried away. “Holy shit, Nathaniel! Oh my god!”

Rebecca throws her head back with a laugh, a genuine laugh, and he swears it’s the most beautiful sound he’s ever heard. He gives her a quick spin around, and she begs him to put her down, so he places her gently on the grass and waits for her to take her shoes off before walking back to his car with her. And yes, she takes _forever_ to decide where to eat.

* * *

 

They end up at a diner about 20 minutes away from the hotel, and Rebecca’s perusing the menu, peeking over the paper’s edge every so often at Nathaniel. She had to admit, even under the obnoxious neon of the sign above him, he’s attractive as hell. The fourth time she looked at him, he locked eyes with her, and suddenly, she felt heat race through her cheeks.

“How can you eat anything here? There’s nothing here that isn’t processed beyond repair.” Rebecca sets her menu on the table and leans her head in her palm.

“Friendly reminder, Nathaniel, _you_ asked me where _I_ wanted to eat. And anyway, welcome to modern America, _everything_ here is processed. I’m so excited, these burgers are amazing, and oh my god, their chocolate shake is to _die for_!”

The waitress sets down a bacon cheeseburger with a plate of fries in front of Rebecca, and she’s glowing with excitement, clapping her hands together anxiously.

“Well, I hope you enjoy the stomachache I know you’re going to have when you get home tonight. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Nathaniel turns his gaze out the window but is distracted by Rebecca’s hand reaching across the table to cover his.

“Come on, live a little, Plimpton. You know you want some of this.” Nathaniel can’t tell what exactly she’s referring to until Rebecca teasingly places a French fry in her mouth with a smile on her face. After finishing the fry, she licks her fingers of the salt, moaning dramatically. “God, this tastes so good. You know, Mister Plimpton, I’d let you have a taste if it weren’t for all your manly pride getting in the way. This is like heaven in my mouth.”

Nathaniel leans over to Rebecca with a wicked smile and lowers his voice. “I gather we’re not just talking about French fries anymore, Miss Bunch.” She winks at him, and he swipes a fry from her plate. Rebecca thought she had won as she takes a slow sip of her Coke, but before Nathaniel places the fried potato in his mouth, he stops and gives her a hooded stare. “If you think that’s heaven in your mouth, you haven’t tasted anything yet.”

Rebecca covers her mouth to keep from spitting out her drink and coughs as she attempts to swallow correctly. He eats the fry with unparalleled satisfaction.

Plimpton: 1, Bunch: 0.

Rebecca opts to not finish her burger so that she can enjoy the chocolate shake she’s prepared to indulge in. She offers the rest to Nathaniel, who politely declines but does steal a few more of her fries when she isn’t looking.

They’ve spent the meal keeping the conversation topics light, mostly discussing work-related things, and Rebecca divulges about her relationships with Paula, Darryl, and Heather, though strategically leaves out any mentions of Josh or Greg.

The shake comes just in time before Nathaniel starts to ask her a question about how she was invited to the wedding, and once again, she does a happy dance at the sight in front of her.

“Hey, why are there two straws?”

“Oh, because I asked for them,” she says casually as she slides into the booth next to him. He looks at her confused and she sighs as she continues. “What, you think I can finish this whole thing by myself?” Before he can respond, Rebecca holds up her finger. “Don’t say yes to that. I promise it’s really good. You’ll like it.”

Initially, he refuses, but now she’s begging him with those wide eyes of hers, and as much as it makes her seem like a six year-old, he can’t help but find it charming.

“Come on, Nathaniel, please?”

“Okay, fine, I’ll have just a little. 3 sips, okay?”

That works for her. As if her eyes aren’t bright enough already, they turn impossibly so at his acceptance. She takes a sip at the same time he does and watches his reaction. To her amazement, she gets a smile out of him.

“Wow, that’s probably the best milkshake I’ve ever had.” Rebecca smiles and pumps her fist in the air in victory. “I’m impressed, thank you, Rebecca.”

She swirls her straw around in the glass a few times to make it smoother to drink. “Normally, I save the whipped cream for last. It tastes really good with all the leftovers on the side of the glass. But I think I want some right now.”

Rebecca dips her finger into the pyramid of whipped cream and just before she puts it in her mouth, she dabs it on Nathaniel’s nose with a BOOP! She giggles at how funny he looks, and while she’s caught in her laughter, she fails to notice Nathaniel’s own finger ready to smear some whipped cream onto her. Instead of landing on her nose, it lands across her top lip, and she laughs at his attempt to get her back but stops when his finger catches in her mouth. Rebecca’s tongue swirls around the tip of his finger to lick the remaining whipped cream and releases it with a pop. She’s nearly about to try again when Nathaniel takes the dot from his nose and sucks his own finger clean of the whipped cream.

It’s no surprise when Rebecca looks down to find goosebumps covering her arms and a very noticeable wetness between her thighs. _Damn him._

Rebecca and Nathaniel polish off the shake, and both of them lament at the sugar crashes that will come out of this. Nathaniel offers to pay the bill (it was the gentlemanly thing to do after all,) and they walk out of the restaurant to his car. Nathaniel starts driving without asking Rebecca where she lives or anything like that.

“Nathaniel, I haven’t told you where I live.”

“I know that.”

“Oh god, you’re not gonna kill me, are you? One time, I brought this guy home that I barely knew, and I had this whole musical number in my head, and I definitely asked him not to harvest my kidney because there was that one Lifetime movie about that, so just please don’t murder me, okay?” Nathaniel laughs, clearly amused with her story.

“Rebecca, I promise I’m not going to murder you. You trust me a bit more than that, don’t you?” She shrugs and leans back in the passenger seat. “I wanted to show you something I think you’ll like. It’s a good thing, I promise.”

They drive for a while before Nathaniel pulls into the driveway of an expensive looking house. Mind you, all houses in California look expensive, but this one is lavish to say the least. Rebecca stares out the window with a wide-eyed curiosity, and Nathaniel comes around to open her door and take her hand.

“Nathaniel, what is this place?”

“Rebecca Bunch, welcome to my humble abode!” He gestures grandly at the exterior of the house, and Rebecca stops dead in her tracks.

“What the fuck, _this_ is where you live?! It’s like looking at a Barbie dream house!”

“The décor inside most definitely isn’t reminiscent of a Barbie dream house, but anyway, we aren’t going inside. Technically, this is my parents’ house, but I have an apartment closer in the city where I spend the majority of my time. I wanted to show you something out here though.” Nathaniel takes her hand and leads her across the lawn around to the back of the house.

There are a few buildings beyond the main house that look like a pool house and something else Rebecca can’t immediately tell what it is. She can’t tell what anything is now after Nathaniel comes behind her and covers her eyes with his hands.

“Don’t peek, okay?” Rebecca nods, though the temptation to look is overwhelming. Nathaniel leads her each step of the way, and she nearly trips over a rock on the ground, but he catches her quickly around the waist while still managing to keep her eyes covered. “I’ve got you, it’s okay.” That makes Rebecca smile more than it should, and she keeps her eyes closed until Nathaniel uncovers them to reveal an elaborate greenhouse.

Rebecca looks around in awe. She’s never seen so many beautiful plants in her life, and she releases her hand from Nathaniel’s to wander up and down the various assortments of plants. She takes a long while staring at the daisies and smelling the sweetness of the tulips, and it’s almost like one of the many princess fantasies she imagined herself in as a child, the wide-eyed princess weaving through the garden without a care in the world.

Nathaniel steps back to watch as the flowers lift any shred of uneasiness or worry from her face. Despite her proclivity to theatrics and drama, he finds that underneath, they have a lot more in common than they both probably recognize. Rebecca needs some magic in her life, even if it’s only for tonight, and he’s fully prepared to bring that to her.

Rebecca turns to check out the next row of plants when she finds Nathaniel waiting for her with a red rose outstretched to her. She gasps audibly and accepts it with a smile.

“Oh my gosh, Nathaniel, it’s beautiful. Thank you.”

“They’re my mother’s favorite. I figure you’d like them too.” Rebecca smiles shyly, rocking back on her heels, and when she looks back up, she finds Nathaniel gently cupping her face with nothing but the warmest of gazes down at her.

Her eyes float from his eyes to his lips and then back to his eyes, which are waiting for her, though not expectant. He wants this to be her decision, and her decision it is. Rebecca closes her eyes and leans in, softly capturing his lips. The kiss sends tingles down her body, and her right foot pops out of its own accord.

It’s not who she thought she’d share this moment with, but in life’s unpredictable way, it’s perfect.

Nathaniel savors the slowness of the kiss, appreciates the beauty in its unhurriedness. In this moment, it’s as if there is no time or space. Just the two of them together. It’s languid the way she presses her lips against his and after a long moment parts his lips with her tongue.

Soon, their hands are grasping at each other, one of his tangled deliciously in her curls and is pulling just so, and they’re breathing hard against each other, needing more than just a kiss. Rebecca breaks the kiss but doesn’t pull away; instead, she leans into him and looks up at his wide-blown pupils.

“Rebecca, hey. I don’t want to push you if you don’t want more than this. If you want this, I won’t stop you, but I want you to be absolutely sure. I’m not rejecting you by any means, but I do want you to make sure you’re doing this because you want to.” She nods and takes a moment to consider her choice. Rebecca looks up and sees the sun begin to peek over the horizon, and while she knows there’s a reality waiting for her with Greg and Josh and everything she doesn’t want to deal with right now, she wants to savor the last few moments of her blissful evening with him.

“Nathaniel, I want you. I want you so much right now. But I also need to do something first.” Rebecca grabs his hand and takes him outside to the middle of the lawn and holds both of his hands in hers as she sighs deeply.

Suddenly, she lets go.

“In one indescribable instant, the whole world falls away!” Rebecca opens her arms wide as she’s scream-singing the song of the evening to the world around her. Rebecca skips around the lawn singing horribly off-key, and Nathaniel can’t help the smile that creeps onto his face. He comes behind her and picks her up with a twirl, and she laughs in his arms as she begs him to carry her back to the car and take her home.

* * *

 

When she shows up to work Monday morning, Paula wears a cheeky grin as she looks up from her computer.

“Rebecca,” she sings dramatically, “check your desk. I think you’ve got a secret admirer, one Josh Chan, perhaps?”

When Rebecca looks on her desk, she finds a single red rose neatly on top of her case files and a card next to it.

_Have a great day at work, Rebecca. Thank you for that one indescribable instant._

Rebecca clutches the rose to her chest after smelling it, and the memories flood back of the magical night she shared with Nathaniel. Though the rose isn’t from Josh Chan, it’s from someone even better.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thank you for reading! Feel free to send me prompts here or on Tumblr @itsme-ashley-marie!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading this little AU :)


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